We were prepared to believe the Palace was honest in saying the P1 billion hunger-easing fund would not be used to buy support for administration candidates. Easing hunger pangs is beyond politics. So by all means, we told ourselves, let’s give Gloria Arroyo the benefit of the doubt.
Our new-found charity toward the basic decency of Gloria and her subalterns was immediately rudely shattered, however, by the Palace announcement that Health Secretary Francisco Duque would serve as point man in an inter-agency ad hoc committee handling the war against hunger.
After his designation as anti-hunger “czar,” Duque appealed to everyone to shun partisanship and work hand in hand in providing a food safety net for the poorest of the poor. One out of five families going without food even if only once in three months is unacceptable. Duque said the battle against hunger will show dramatic results in six months.
